So you think you know everything about Abe Lincoln? 16th president. Honest Abe. Civil War president. Emancipator. Mary, Robert, Tad, Willie. Target of grave robbing plot. Hold on there! What was that?
What do Lincoln, coney, the Secret Service, and grave robbing all have in common? 10 years after the president's death, a counterfeiting ring plots to steal Lincoln's body as part of an attempt to blackmail the government into releasing one of the best coney men around. At the time, the Secret Service agents' primary job was to stop counterfeiters, not provide protection for presidents, but one agent stumbled upon the grave robbing plot.
Look for some period- and setting-specific lingo. "Coney", "shover", and "ropers" might be unfamiliar terms. But the book is well equipped with a glossary at the back as well as extensive source notes. Sheinkin obviously did his research. There's also a bonus section about "body snatchers" - resurrectionists - and the practice of grave robbing in the nineteenth century.
It's true! Check out Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin.
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